Past Lives

Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Past Lives?

Directed by Celine Song, with Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro leading the cast, Past Lives was produced by A24 with a confirmed budget of $12,000,000, placing it in the low-budget category for drama films.

At $12,000,000, Past Lives was produced on a modest budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $30,000,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Goon (2012): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $6,985,158 → ROI: -42% • Jobs (2013): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $42,100,000 → ROI: 251% • All That Jazz (1979): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $37,823,676 → ROI: 215% • 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $71,923,560 → ROI: 499% • Wolfwalkers (2020): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $1,310,720 → ROI: -89%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Above-the-Line Talent Drama films live or die on the strength of their performances. Securing award-caliber actors and experienced directors represents the single largest budget line item, often consuming 30–40% of the total production budget.

▸ Location Filming & Period Production Design Authentic locations — whether contemporary or historical — require scouting, permits, travel, lodging, and often significant dressing to match the story's time period. Period dramas add the cost of era-accurate props, vehicles, and set decoration.

▸ Post-Production, Color Grading & Score The editorial process for dramas is typically longer than genre films, with careful attention to pacing and tone. Color grading, a nuanced musical score, and detailed sound mixing are critical to achieving the emotional resonance that defines the genre.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro, Moon Seung-ah, Leem Seung-min Key roles: Greta Lee as Nora; Teo Yoo as Hae Sung; John Magaro as Arthur; Moon Seung-ah as Young Nora

DIRECTOR: Celine Song CINEMATOGRAPHY: Shabier Kirchner MUSIC: Daniel Rossen, Christopher Bear EDITING: Keith Fraase PRODUCTION: A24, Killer Films, 2AM, CJ ENM FILMED IN: United States of America, South Korea

Box Office Performance

Past Lives earned $11,331,983 domestically and $16,794,663 internationally, for a worldwide total of $28,126,646. Revenue was split 40% domestic / 60% international.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), Past Lives needed approximately $30,000,000 to break even. The film fell $1,873,354 short in theatrical revenue. Ancillary streams (home media, streaming, TV) may have bridged the gap.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $28,126,646 Budget: $12,000,000 Net: $16,126,646 ROI: 134.4%

Detailed Box Office Notes

Past Lives grossed $11.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $31.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $42.7 million.

The film grossed $232,266 from four theaters in its opening weekend, an average of $55,066 per venue. By its sixth weekend, the film had a running total of $8.4 million.

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Profitable

Past Lives delivered a solid return, earning $28,126,646 worldwide on a $12,000,000 budget (134% ROI). Combined with ancillary revenue, the film was a financial positive for A24.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

In January 2020, it was announced Choi Woo-shik would star in the film, with Celine Song set to direct from a screenplay she wrote, and A24 set to produce and distribute alongside Killer Films and CJ ENM. In August 2021, it was announced that Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro joined the cast of the film, with Yoo replacing Choi.

Cinematographer Shabier Kirchner shot Past Lives on 35 mm film. Production took place during July and August 2021 at locations around New York, including the city's ferries, and under and along the Manhattan Bridge. The apartment sets for Hae Sung's and Nora's Skype conversations were built next to each other at Greenpoint Studios, Brooklyn, and filmed simultaneously. The production then moved to Seoul and filmed from late October to early November.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: Nominated for 2 Oscars. 83 wins & 240 nominations total

Nominations: ○ Academy Award for Best Picture (96th Academy Awards) ○ Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay (96th Academy Awards)

Additional Recognition: ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Date of ceremony ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Nominee(s) ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable" |

! rowspan="2" scope="row"| Academy Awards

! scope="row"| African-American Film Critics Association

! rowspan="8" scope="row"| Alliance of Women Film Journalists

! scope="row"| American Cinema Editors

! scope="row" | American Film Institute Awards

! scope="row" | Asia Pacific Screen Awards

! scope="row"| Artios Awards

! scope="row" rowspan="5"| Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards

! rowspan="6" scope="row"| Austin Film Critics Association Awards

! scope="row" |Berlin International Film Festival

! rowspan="2" scope="row"| Black Film Critics Circle

! scope="row"| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards

! rowspan="3" scope="row"| British Academy Film Awards

! scope="row"| British Independent Film Awards

! scope="row"| Celebration of Cinema & Television

! rowspan="4" scope="row"| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

! scope="row"| Cinema Eye Honors

! scope="row"| Cinema for Peace Awards

! rowspan="3" scope="row" | Critics' Choice Movie Awards

! rowspan="3" scope="row"| Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association

! scope="row" | Deauville American Film Festival

! rowspan="4" scope="row"| Denver Film Critics Society

! scope="row"| Directors Guild of America Awards

! rowspan="2" scope="row"| Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards

! rowspan="2" scope="row" | Film Fest Ghent

! scope="row" rowspan="5"| F...

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Manola Darghis, in The New York Times, compared the film to French romantic cinema, complimenting its restraint in the presentation of its main themes, and writing: "The movie's modesty—its intimacy, human scale, humble locations and lack of visual oomph—is one of its strengths. The characters live in homes that are pleasant yet ordinary, the kind that you can imagine hanging out in, the kind you want to hang out in. There are few big, look-at-me details, though you might notice a poster for Jacques Rivette’s 1974 classic Céline and Julie Go Boating in Nora’s father’s home office in Seoul." In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw praised the film highly, referencing existing comparisons to the works of Richard Linklater, Noah Baumbach, and Greta Gerwig, and himself likening the film to Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love". He wrote: "Past Lives is a glorious date movie, and a movie for every occasion, too. As ever with films like this, there is an auxiliary pleasure in wondering how much of her own past life Song has used. It's a must-see."

Filmmaker Daniel Scheinert, who co-directed A24's Everything Everywhere All at Once with Daniel Kwan, praised the film, saying: "It's remarkable, the way [Celine Song] pushed past the story of 'picking mister right' and the story of 'fighting to win the girl' and somehow brought her audience to this painfully relatable heartbreak on the other side of those stories. I'm inspired by it. And mystified by how the filmmaking team did it. But when I was lucky enough to see a Q&A and have some brunch with Celine, I saw how curious and thoughtful and passionate and charmingly bossy she was, and I was instantly convinced that this movie was no accident. It's a smart, confident, unique poem because Celine is a smart, confident, unique poet." Filmmaker Christopher Nolan also praised the film and named it one of his favorites, calling it "subtle in a beautiful sort of way".